Stock Market Updates: Sensex Falls 350 Points, Nifty Below 25,000; Bajaj Twins, Nestle Top Drags
Sensex Today: Domestic equity markets may remain volatile on Friday, the final trading session of the week, amid multiple market-moving cues. These include Q1 earnings, India's weekly forex reserves data (for the week ended July 18), developments in the India-UK trade agreement, mixed global trends, institutional flows, and ongoing primary market activity.
At 8:40 AM, GIFT Nifty futures were trading 131 points lower at 24,964, hinting at a gap-down opening for benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty.
Global Cues
Asian markets traded largely lower on Thursday as investors digested recent global economic signals and trade developments. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.55%, and the Topix index fell 0.73%. Australia's ASX 200 declined 0.51%, while South Korea's Kospi remained flat.
In the US, weekly jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 217,000, defying expectations of a rise to 227,000. This marked the sixth straight weekly decline, suggesting a still-resilient labour market. However, continuing claims inched up to 1.955 million, the second-highest level since November 2021—signalling that while layoffs remain low, hiring momentum may be softening.
Meanwhile, the S&P Global US Composite PMI rose to 54.6 in July, up from 52.9 in June, pointing to the strongest private sector growth in 2025 so far. The surge was led by a sharp rebound in services activity—the fastest since December—while manufacturing output also improved, albeit more moderately.
US stocks extended gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notching new all-time closing highs. The S&P 500 edged up 0.07% to close at 6,363.35, and the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 21,057.96. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 316.38 points or 0.7% to settle at 44,693.91, weighed down by earnings-related declines in some heavyweight stocks.
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The Hindu
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News18
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News18
2 hours ago
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Andhra to conduct village-level farm machinery survey
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